Tyson Chandler’s departure from the New York Knicks was contentious. Phil Jackson did everything but outright call him a cancer, and the 2012 Defensive Player of the Year responded aggressively. But bonds forged through basketball supersede such talk, and Chandler hates to see a certain former teammate struggle to lift the Big Apple’s team from its nadir.
After Chandler’s Dallas Mavericks beat the woebegone Knicks 107-87 at Madison Square Garden on Tuesday, he confirmed that he feels sorry for the disgruntled Carmelo Anthony. Via Tim MacMahon of ESPN Dallas:
Dallas Mavericks center Tyson Chandler feels sorry for former New York Knicks teammate Carmelo Anthony, the face of a team that fell to 5-22 with Tuesday’s 107-87 loss to the Mavs.
“I do because he’s a competitor,” said Chandler, who received a warm ovation from the crowd in his return to Madison Square Garden and had eight points and 14 rebounds in the win. “I laced them up and went to battle with him for the last three years and know what kind of competitor he is.
“I know he wants to win, and I know he’s going to take a lot of this heat. And it’s unfortunate because he’s a hell of a player in our league. It’s just unfortunate.”
Earlier this week, Anthony was forced to refute a report that he’d requested a trade from the team with which he signed a five-year, max-level contract this summer. That came in the wake of news that he nearly came to blows with Tim Hardaway, Jr. after a recent game, too.
Conventional wisdom is that Chandler and Anthony weren’t especially close during their time spent as teammates. The former was reportedly most bothered by Carmelo’s lack of defensive intensity. Whether’s that’s true or not, these comments aren’t especially surprising.
Chandler is a consummate professional and has been lauded as an overwhelmingly positive locker room presence at most every stop in his career. Even if teammates don’t get along ideally, there exists a life-long camaraderie that’s unbreakable – that’s what Chandler’s sentiments say more than anything else.
What do you think?
Follow Jack on Twitter at @ArmstrongWinter.
Follow Dime on Twitter at @DimeMag.
Become a fan of Dime Magazine on Facebook HERE.
